As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option is an Information Handling System (IHS). An IHS generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements may vary between different applications, IHSs may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in IHSs allow for IHSs to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, global communications, etc. In addition, IHSs may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Traditionally, input mechanisms for IHSs were limited to keyboards and mice. More recently, IHSs have evolved to include new forms of user inputs, such as touch screens. The use of touch screen inputs has become increasingly common with the proliferation of smart phones, tablets and certain laptop devices. Touch screens may receive inputs from the user in the form of finger gestures or through the use of a stylus. The use of a stylus, such as a pen device, as a touchscreen input mechanism is becoming increasingly common as tablets and touchscreen-enabled laptops have been adopted for more uses. Certain IHSs that support touchscreen inputs may also include a trackpad interface, thus requiring the user to switch between inputs to the trackpad interface and the touchscreen.
Certain IHSs that utilize a touchscreen do not include a trackpad interface. In such scenarios, the touchscreen interface is ill-suited for certain user input tasks, such as tasks requiring fine degrees of human motor dexterity. For instance, selecting small targets, such as cells in a spreadsheet, may be difficult using a touchscreen. In such touchscreen IHSs, more precise selection capabilities may be provided via a digital pen device by which the user may select items on the touchscreen display.
More recently, IHSs may be used to provide users with virtual reality software applications that provide users with immersive, simulated environments. In some virtual reality scenarios, users may interact with virtual objects provided within the simulated environments. Augmented reality software applications and mixed reality software applications similarly provide users with simulated environments that may be projected on the physical surroundings of the user. Certain virtual reality applications support user inputs via peripheral devices such as a trackpads and digital pens. Users may switch between using the trackpad and digital pen in order to utilize the inputs supported by each of these peripheral devices.
A common aspect of providing users with multiple input mechanisms, such as a trackpad and a digital pen, is the disruption to the user's workflow that results from switching between the different available input mechanisms. In order to switch from the use of a digital pen device to a trackpad for inputs to an IHS software application, the user may be required to put the pen device down and switch over to the trackpad. Such a transition typically requires the user to make several hand movements and possibly to divert their gaze away from the current task at hand via the display device.